TEMECULA: Incumbent Councilwoman focused on public safety

Maryann Edwards is one of five candidates for the Temecula City Council

Editor's Note
: This is the second in a series
focusing on the five candidates seeking three seats on the Temecula
City Council. The election is Nov. 2.

Maryann Edwards drives around Temecula and she's proud of what
she doesn't see.

Specifically, graffiti left behind by miscreants.

"It sends a signal to the gangs; it's like putting down a
welcome mat," said Edwards, a Temecula council member elected in
2006 who is one of five candidates running for the three open seats
on the City Council.

Edwards, 55, brought up graffiti ---- and the special truck that
eradicates it after it's spotted ---- during a recent interview
because keeping the city free from the clutches of gangs and other
criminals is a platform of her re-election campaign.

"I'm a zero-tolerance mom," she said.

During her time on the council, Edwards, who serves as the chief
executive officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest
County, said she has backed that up by authoring legislation to bar
sex offenders from moving to areas of the city that are near
schools or parks and supporting the county's gang task force.

She said she's also been a strong supporter of the city's police
and fire departments, making sure during budget sessions that the
ratio of police officers to residents does not drop below 1 per
1,000.

Temecula, incorporated in 1989, has a budget of $54.5 million,
with about 48 percent of spending going toward the police and fire
departments. Each council member is elected to a four-year term and
they receive a $600 a month stipend plus a car allowance, health
coverage and membership in the CalPERS retirement program.

Although half of $54.5 million might seem like a lot of money,
Edwards said the city gets "more bang for its buck" by contracting
with Riverside County for its police and fire services.

Plus, she said, the city will avoid spending even more money in
the near future when it converts a storefront in the new Civic
Center to a police substation and, down the line, when it converts
the old City Hall into a police station.

"That's millions of dollars by not having to pay for a new
station," she said.

In addition to stressing her support for public safety, Edwards
also has been talking about jobs on the campaign trail.

In the last few years, the council has been working to bring a
hospital and a four-year university to the city, efforts that
Edwards has supported.

As an example, she voted to authorize the use of $3 million in
redevelopment agency funding to renovate classrooms at the Sparkman
Alternative Education Center for use by Cal State San Marcos, which
is offering a number of nursing programs in the space.

In the future, if that partnership remains a strong one, the
city could be the site of a university, a plan Edwards has helped
along by her work on a land swap.